a memoir of kassala, sudan a memoir of kassala, sudan mixture of african and arab culture the...

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< No. 85 > August 1, 2015

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A Memoir of Kassala, Sudan <Part 1>

Mixture of African and Arab culture The Republic of Sudan (commonly referred to simply as Sudan) is located in the north eastern part of Africa. The population is around 34 million and the country area is five times that of Japan making it the third largest country in Africa. Prior to the separation and independence of South Sudan in July 2011, it was, in fact, the largest country in Africa.

Before the north and south separated, Sudan was divided by the predominantly Christian south which also hosts traditional religions and animism, and the north which is populated mainly by Arabic Islamists. However many different non-Arab ethnic groups such as Bejas, Nubias and Fulas also reside in north Sudan, and one cannot simply draw an equation of north = Arab = Islam.

However for me, as someone who has worked in many “Arab” countries such as Syria, Palatine, Jordan and Egypt, the whiff of Arab in Sudan was very apparent. I have always considered Sudan to be a rather mysterious country, a place where African and Arab cultural elements mix.

The word Sudan originates from Arabic meaning “black person”. Perhaps it means the black people who accepted the Arab culture from the Arabian Peninsula and the north and became Muslim. In addition to this north-south axis, there is an east - west axis of Sudan and Habesha (present day Ethiopia and Eritrea). These axes, enriched by the exchange of various goods and products, have formed a very colorful culture throughout history - very tangible results of interactions between various and very different indigenous cultures of the African continent.

The author has been involved in a JICA technical cooperation project in Kassala, Sudan, since January 2011. The project’s main aim is to develop the capacity of State Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Irrigations’ extension services. It has been supporting extension workers’ human resource development through joint work by developing pilot activities that target farmers and women.

In this six part series, I would like to use the limited space permitted in AAI News, to offer essays introducing cultural and social issues that exist in this attractive country based on my time and experiences in Kassala. I plan to discuss various topics as they come to my mind covering this and that; farmers, agricultural technology, food processing, food culture and plants etc. In the next part, I will discuss challenges for traditional rain-fed agricultural production and livelihoods of farmers and pastoralists.

Stone grilled mutton Sorghum

Acacia Onion field

Fresh fruit juice Arabic dish mandi

Local specialty lime Public souk (market)

The seasonal river gash Mount Totil


< No. 86 > November 1, 2015

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Drought damaged sorghum

Extension workers and Growing sorghum

Sorghum and rain-fed agriculture On my way from the capital Khartoum to Kassala, as the Nile recedes, sorghum fields start to dominate the landscape. In the rainy season, dark green plants shoot up to 2m. During the dry season they wither, and, after harvest, the land is used for cattle grazing and grass collecting. Sorghum is not familiar to many people in Japan. However globally, is it the 5th most commonly traded cereal after wheat, rice, maize and barley.

In Sudan, there are some wheat schemes with river irrigation originating from the cultural complexes of Mediterranean cultivation. However there is hardly any maize cultivation which originates from the cultural complexes of New World's cultivation. What is predominant in the vast landscape is sorghum cultivation which came from the Ethiopian highlands in old times. Most of the farms are dependent on rain for water. Sometimes small fields of millet are seen at the edge of the sorghum fields. In Sudan, sorghum is used for traditional food such as kisra (fermented bread) and aseeda (paste product) and drinks such as helamor which is drunk during Ramadan. While grains are the main food in Sudan, stalks and leaves are important livestock fodder and are exported to neighboring countries.

In Sudan, sorghum is still the most important crop, however its characteristics are that the crop is cultivated under a highly unstable rain-fed environment. Rain-fed agriculture is often like gambling, and is often jokingly referred to as Insha Allah (as God wills it) agriculture. Cultivation success is outside human control and things do not often go at one’s will. Also in Kassala, most sorghum cultivation is rain-fed, and agricultural areas are divided into mechanized rain-fed farming areas and traditional rain-fed farming areas. In the mechanized rain-fed farming areas, the average precipitation is between 400-500mm. Plowing and seeding machine have been used for a long time introduced in the period when the British were

indirectly administering the area, and large scale farming is common for cultivating sorghum and sesame. In contrast, in the traditional rain-fed farming areas, the average precipitation is much less 200-300mm. In these areas, most work including plowing, seed sowing and weeding, is done manually by pastoralists using simple hand tools. Reasons why mechanization did not happen in these areas include low level of average rainfall and harsher climate and environmental conditions.

Farmers in arid areas must have been devising various ways to overcome obstacles they face in undertaking rain-fed cultivation. These could include selection of adaptable varieties and planting at appropriate timing, predicting rains. In the next part of this series, we would like to dig a little deeper into these plans and improvement measures.

Sorghum juice Raw material for fermented drink helamor

Flour mill Grains of variety Acramoi

Use of stalks and leaves for fodder

Rain-fed field

Harvesting sorghum Varieties of sorghum

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< No. 87 > February 1, 2016

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Sorghum cultivation by pastoralists using water harvesting techniques The climate in Sudan becomes drier when we move from the south to the north. Kassala State, which is located at the latitude belt of the Sahel’s eastern edge, follows this same trend. The annual precipitation of 400 to 500mm in the south gradually decreases as it enters an arid area in the north (less than 100mm) adjoining the Egyptian border. Agriculture in Kassala State yields various products by combining different types of agriculture such as horticulture by pumping irrigation, mechanized rain-fed farming, and gravity type irrigation farming, which all benefit from the two rivers of Atbarah and Gash. See AAINews No.73 for more details. The majority of farmland in Kassala State is occupied by sorghum rain-fed farming on semi-arid area. Moreover, unstable sorghum production at the cultivation limit with scarce rainfall (150-250mm) is handled by a pastoral people. This time, we would like to introduce traditional water harvesting techniques practiced by pastoral sorghum growing people living in the eastern area of Atbarah River in Kassala State. We have in the past observed various livelihood activities by pastoral peoples in Syria, Palestine, and Mongolia, and found their ‘farming’ styles were quite simple. Needless to say, the pastoral people’s livelihood basis is livestock farming, and agriculture is only supplementary to this. Even when they engage in farming, they tend to save labor for agriculture by wage labor work or sowing seeds without tilling so that farm work is kept to a minimum.

In the case of the pastoral people in the eastern area of Atbarah River we see a different approach. They have elaborated on the usual sorghum farming and have taken the technology one step further than some others. The sorghum fields are on very gentle slopes that almost look level, and the people build U-shaped field with ridges (20-30cm in height, covering land tracts of 1-2ha), which are called ‘Jidah’ in the local language, so that they can pool water flowing from upstream rainwater catchment area (two to five times bigger than the size of the U-shaped field) (please refer to the figure).

The purpose of Jidah is to stabilize sorghum production by supplementing an insufficient absolute quantity of water by utilizing water in the soil collected through rainwater catchment. The system might look simple, but it is quite hard work to make ridges manually using simple farming equipment such as shovels and hoes. Also, the force of water during the rainy season is sometimes so strong that Jidah often get destroyed by the water flow. When it rains, the pastoral people frequently stay up all night and repair damaged Jidah. Although the work is limited to a short period during the rainy season (June to August) each year, it is very interesting to see that the pastoral people allocate such a volume of time and labor for farming. Varieties of sorghum, such as Fatalita and Halirai, cultivated by the pastoral people usually grow tall and are strongly resistant to drought. They are cultivated not only for grains but also for stems and leaves that are used as livestock fodder. This selection of the hardy variety can be also recognized as traditional knowledge to adapt to the harsh natural environment of semi-arid area. However, even after constructing Jidah, the annual yield becomes zero when the rainfall is extremely small or rainfall is erratic and unpredictable. Rainwater harvesting is fragile and comes with a harsh reality. The pastoral people must sell their livestock and conduct migrant work in towns if there is no harvest.

Jidah made to collect water and a ridge partly damaged by a strong water flow

Sorghum cultivated in Jidah and a scene of weeding

Schematic drawing of a traditional water Jidah catchment system

Catchment Area (5ha)

1-2ha 70m 70m

300m


< No. 88 > May 1, 2016

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Sorghum grains on sale Milled sorghum

Immature ear of sorghum (Acramoi variety)

Immature ear of sorghum (Fatalita variety)

Kisra; a typical flour food

A faruk sorghum grain dish

Grain food culture of sorghum and wheat Although Sudan’s total arable land is estimated to be around 84 million ha, the regularly cultivated area is only 14-15% of the total. The actual cultivated areas are estimated to total 12 million ha. With production under irrigation, a wide variety of cash crops are being grown including sesame, Arabian rubber, cotton, ground nuts, vegetables and fruits with some being exported out of the country. Other than cash crops, the majority or 85% of cultivated land is under rain-fed agriculture, producing important grains such as sorghum and pearl millet. Productivity of rain-fed agriculture is low as farmers are dependent on rainfall. This low productivity is augmented by produce grown in large cultivation areas. In Kassala’s rain-fed cultivation areas, sorghum is by far the most widely grown crop and its production amount is the highest among the crops. However, when one looks at recent consumption amount, demand for wheat is growing, getting closer to the demand for sorghum.

Wheat production in Sudan is expected to grow with increased productivity under irrigation farming. However, for now production is not meeting demand, and the country imports quite a lot of wheat from other countries such as Russia. In my experience from living in Kassala, it seems that more Sudanese people are now buying wheat bread made in factories rather than the traditional crepe shaped sorghum bread called kisra. I asked people the reasons for choosing wheat bread. Changes in taste are one factor. However, another major reason is that it is cheaper to buy wheat bread considering the time and effort it takes within

households to make kisra bread as well as the fuel cost for baking. Food made of imported wheat has become far more familiar to people than domestically produced sorghum.

There was another interesting discovery related to the use of sorghum in comparison with wheat. I used to believe that sorghum, like wheat, is mainly used in the flour form. However, in Sudan, there is also a traditional way of utilizing grains as food.

The dish they make is very similar to wheat grain food that can be found in Syria. In Syria, people harvest water rich immature ears and grill it over a fire. This is called “freekeh” and is highly prized as a seasonal food. Exactly the same use is seen in Sudan with sorghum and water rich immature ears here are called “faruk”. Although harvesting seasons are different (spring and autumn), it was a pleasant surprise to find, in the remote parts of Sudan, common grain food culture with similar names of Arabic origin. It reminded me of the farming area in Syria where I worked 20 years ago.

Production and consumption amounts of sorghum and wheat in Sudan (Source: Index mundi)

0

1,000

2,000

3,000

4,000

5,000

6,000

Sorghum production Wheat production

Sorghum consumption Wheat consumption

mt

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< No. 89 > August 1, 2016

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What damages sorghum fields Sorghum fields are damaged by less rain, drought, disease

and pests, and weeds. The sorghum growing area size in

Sudan is vast, and the cultivation is rain-fed, extensive and

low input. In terms of cost-effectiveness, there are limited

measures to minimize damages. Still, farmers are devising

a variety of coping methods including preventive

measures.

In the drylands, because of drastic changes in rainfall

patterns, less rain and drought cannot be avoided. Unlike

irrigated farmlands where adjustments of water availability

through water management, under the rain-fed agricultural

regime that is totally dependent on natural rainfalls, once

drought happens, there is really nothing one can do. When

disaster strikes, the government and aid organizations

provide emergency humanitarian support distributing seeds

and other basic items. At the same time, as medium to long

term measures, it is important to increase the overall

resilience of the farming society. One of the techniques to

stabilize sorghum production, compensating for low

rainfalls is a water harvesting technique using construction

of terraces which was introduced in this series part 3 in

AAINews No. 87. However it takes time to establish a

fundamental and comprehensive system, and requires a

major shift in mind-set. As a result, countries tend to rely

on practical material distribution support by outside

organizations such as the United Nations and NGOs, when

disasters such as severe storms and drought hit.

Disease and pests, like less rains and drought, are difficult

for people to control. There are chronic disease and pests

problems and some prevail in particular years. Once

widespread, they will cause substantial damage. In order to

protect crops, it is fundamental to find symptoms as early

as possible, and take measures such as thoroughly

eliminating plants that carry diseases and spraying

pesticide. However while these methods are effective in

intensive horticultural crops, for vast sorghum fields, they

require huge cost and labor, and these text book principles

do not apply in traditional sorghum fields. The government

therefore has to ask external organizations for emergency

help in order to stop expansion of damage, rather than

watching and doing nothing. In particular what causes wide

spread damage is the locust damage on crops, and large

scale air spraying of chemicals is conducted by FAO.

So what about weeds. The three major weeds in sorghum

fields are Sudangrass (Sorghum Drummondii), Mesquite

(Prosopis Juliflora) and Striga (Striga.spp.). Farmers do

not like them as each of them have troublesome characters.

In particular, Sudangrass is a close relative of sorghum

belonging to the same poaceae family. Until they grow to

produce panicles, it is very difficult to tell if they are

sorghum or Sudangrass. This makes it difficult to develop

effective weeding methods. Mesquite was originally

introduced for afforestation for desertification prevention.

Because of its strong ability for reproduction and seed

dispersal, today it is regarded as an alien weed. Use of

heavy machinery and “human-wave tactics” for mass

weeding with a large number of farmers are used for

countering spread of Mesquite. However these are very

expensive and labor intensive operations. In addition,

because of price hikes after the separation of South Sudan

in July 2011 as well as an efflux of laborers to gold mines,

securing cheap labor for agricultural work has become

increasingly difficult.

As we have seen so far, because of the fact sorghum fields

are very big, one cannot avoid saying that it is difficult for

farmers to proactively and effectively develop counter

measures for threats such as less rain, drought, disease and

pests, and weeds. However, there is a little different

development as far as the Striga weed is concerned.

Striga is a weed belonging to the orobanchaceae family

and is parasitic to poaceae. It kills the host sorghum by

sucking up nutrients which makes farmers very weary of

the plant. As is the case for other weeds, for a long time

there has been no effective counter measure devised.

However one farmer devised a method and it has been

spreading to other farmers. The method actually is well

known locally and is called Sarwala farming. Sarwala

farming involves destruction of plant communities with

farming machinery when sorghum grows to a certain height

and after Striga lodge themselves to the host and germinate.

In other words, using a wide level disc harrow pulled by a

tractor, Striga are mowed down along with their host

sorghum. With this apparently rough yet simple work,

Striga that are touched by machinery become largely

exterminated. At the same time sorghum plants go down

too. However after a while they can come up and

regenerate to form the original community. It is a

revolutionary method which takes advantage of the

differences in regeneration ability between poaceae

sorghum and orobanchaceae Striga. This Sarwala farming

has spread rapidly among farmers as an appropriate

technology. This is attracting a lot of attention as a good

example of a farmer’s innovation based on traditional

knowledge of farmers working on the land in a severe

natural environment as opposed to a top-down extension

effort launched by government research institutions.

Wide level disc harrow

(disc plowing / seeding) Parasitic Striga


< No. 90 > November 1, 2016

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Fired clay pot – Jabana Having a cup at a tree café

Life with delicious coffee The town of Kassala in eastern Sudan is “painted” with

coffee. It is close to the origin of coffee, Ethiopia, and

people enjoy drinking coffee even more in Kassala than

they do in Khartoum. All over the town one can see

people pouring coffee while burning incense. Simple

cafes are everywhere in town and laughter echoes from

here and there.

The original traditional coffee making equipment is a

bottle gourd-shaped clay container called Jabana. People

use their favorite Jabana set to offer coffee to their

guests. It starts slowly with firing charcoals using a

hand-held fan. The strong coffee, derived from the

deeply roasted coffee beans comes with plenty of ginger.

Depending on peoples’ tastes, spices such as black

pepper, cloves, cardamom, and cinnamon are added. A

lot of sugar is added as if trying to neutralize the

spiciness. At first, one gets bewildered by the spicy

ingredients such as the ginger. However once one

becomes used to drinking the brew, without these extra

ingredients, one feels something is missing.

Coffee trees are not grown in Kassala. Fresh coffee

beans are imported from Ethiopia and South Sudan.

When dropping by at one of the cafés under a tree

before going to work, colleagues start gathering and

early morning information exchanges start. After taking

breakfast at the canteen, there is also another relaxing

cup. After field work in the heat of the day, when

dropping by in a village for a rest, villagers’ coffee is

served and tiny coffee cups are passed around.

Colorful cafes line up at the foot of rocky mountains

where tourists visit. When water flows in Gash River,

seasonal café terraces emerge offering people cooling

sanctuaries. During the evening hours when day time

temperatures are softening, I would invite myself to

some coffee brewed by the Hadendoa guard. As usual,

he would use fibers from Doum palm fronds as a filter,

stuffing them in the spout of his Jabana, conducting

silent rather ceremonial maneuvers with his wrinkly

hands. Calm moments pass by while he pours 2nd and

3rd helpings of coffee. These are gentle times in a day

full of busy working hours.

I like drinking coffee in an air-conditioned café in Japan

with internet facilities with a book in one hand.

However, I feel blissfully happy when I spend time

slowly chatting besides a Jabana. If I have an

opportunity to visit Kassala again I will, above all,

definitely go on a serious “cafe crawl.”

Coffee making ceremony to

offer hospitality

Blending spices according to

taste

Making coffee in the open field Deep roasted coffee

Jabanas at a tourist spot Burning frankincense

Samurai coffee By a Gash (ephemeral river)

a memoir of kassala, sudan a memoir of kassala, sudan mixture of african and arab culture the...

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